


thank u, next

by rhxiax



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura thinks shes smug, Hunk is a good friend, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Langst, M/M, Multi, Oh My God, Singer Keith, Singer Lance, a song fic, adashi is canon here, klance, klance is something here, klangst, thank u next, what is this wtf u doing a song fic really?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 18:55:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16979955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhxiax/pseuds/rhxiax
Summary: Lance is tired. Really. Tired. Honestly, he just wants to curl up into a ball and forget the world for a little while. After ending a bad relationship, Lance Mcclain decides to write a song dedicated to his ex's and his journey to find love again.Exterp:“A new hit single premier by Lance Mcclain called ‘thank u, next’ is taking the internet by storm! 23 year-old singer from Cuba’s new song talks about his ex’s over the past-...read more”Keith dropped his phone and rolled over to his desktop.  He opened a browser and typed in the name of the song. He held his breath in anticipation as the page loaded. His heart raced as the results showed up. The search page was completely filled with news articles talking about the new song, ranging from the story behind it to a breakdown of the actual song. He scrolled down a little.Keith’s eyes landed on a video.Without a second thought, he clicked it.





	thank u, next

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Welcome to my song fic called "thank u, next"! Of course, as you can tell from the title, it was inspired by the Ariana Grande song about her ex's. 
> 
> I decided to write this short two parter to lighten up the mood for the final season of Voltron, cause let's be honest, we're all on our fucking last nerves. 
> 
> Part two will be released a couple days after the Season drops! 
> 
> (also pls don't hate me this was super rushed and undetailed i just really needed to get this out before the new season ok bye)
> 
> Follow my twitter ;): https://twitter.com/raiyaxx_?lang=en

Keith let out a yawn and raised his arms to stretch. He gazed out the window next to his desk and stare at the sky. It was evening already and he was stuck in his home. It had been a long day of nothing. Absolutely nothing. Supposedly, he was to come up with a new theme and title for his new album, but nothing interesting came to his head. Everything he thought of was just plain, cringey or just not interesting.

  
He sighed in frustration and leaned back in his chair. He glared at the blank sheet of paper resting on the desk, looking at it like as if he intimidated hard enough, it would just give in a sprout like some ideas. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened and Keith let out another groan of frustration.

  
Suddenly, his phone went off, cutting him off. A loud and clear ‘ding’ letting him know he’s gotten a message.

  
Keith reached forward and picked up his phone. He quickly enters his passcode and checks the notification. His eyes widen as he read the text.

  
“ _A new hit single premier by Lance Mcclain called ‘thank u, next’ is taking the internet by storm! 23 year-old singer from Cuba’s new song talks about his ex’s over the past-...read more”_

  
Keith dropped his phone and rolled over to his desktop.  He opened a browser and typed in the name of the song. He held his breath in anticipation as the page loaded. His heart raced as the results showed up. The search page was completely filled with news articles talking about the new song, ranging from the story behind it to a breakdown of the actual song. He scrolled down a little.

  
Keith’s eyes landed on a video.

  
Without a second thought, he clicked it.

  
Immediately, the video begins playing and Lance’s body came into view, dressed in a full white suit accompanied with a blue tie and flowers pinned to his hair. Keith’s heart raced as he watched the cuban walk up onto a stage on what seems like a television show. The Lance in the video steps up to the centre of the stage and does a little mock bow as the audience claps for his arrival. He then makes his way over to the couches where the interviewer could be seen behind a little office desk.

  
As he takes a seat, the camera zooms in on his face. Keith is instantly taken back. Lance’s eyes were slightly red on the rim, and his hair was slightly disheveled. Almost like he had been crying…

  
Keith might not know Lance in person, but he’s seen enough of Lance’s music videos, interviews and live concerts to know the difference. (admit it, keith is just a big fan with a bit of a crush)

  
“Hey Lance! Welcome to our show”

  
“Hey Bob. It’s good to be here.”

  
“How are  you doing today? Has it been ok”

  
“Yeah. My day’s been decent so far.”

 

“Good good.”

  
Keith cringes at the introduction. It was so ordinary and common that if you looked at 50 other videos from this show, they would all overlap and end up being the same video. His mind taps out as they continue their little ‘meet and greet’. He stares at the screen, hoping something interesting would happen.

  
“So Lance, tell me. You just finished working on a new single. How do you feel about it?” The interviewer starts. Keith’s mind snapped back into reality.

  
“I feel good! I personally feel like, it reflects me and shows the world a complete different side of me.” Lance responds, smoothly answering the question. Keith noticed that his voice sounded a little hoarse. It was barely noticeable, but definitely there.

  
“Well then Lance, from what I’ve heard so far, it’s a song about your ex’s am I correct?”

 

“Yes. It is about my past relationships. It’s about them, and myself. It’s about how I’ve learned from each person I’ve dated and how it shaped me to the person I am today.”

  
“Fascinating. Well, then what inspired you to write it?”

  
“I can’t say exactly, but I can tell you that the end of my most recent relationship was a part of the reason why I wrote this song.”

  
“About that, I’m sorry about what happened with your ex boyfriend.”

  
Keith scoffed at the fake sympathy coming from the interviewer. The Lance in the video shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ve learned from my mistakes and this was no exception.”

  
Keith could feel the sadness pouring out of Lance as he spoke those words. A forced smile spread across his face as if he had to deal with that comment far too many times. (which he probably did let’s be honest)

  
“Well, then Lance why don’t you go ahead and perform your song for us?”

  
Lance stood up from his seat. He flashed a wink and a smirk to the audience. “Why of course.”

  
Keith felt his own face flush as Lance gave a charming smile. God damn it that smile…

  
Lance made his was up to the mic stand, where the lights flickered to a shade of purple. The spotlight shone on him as everything else around dimmed. He nodded for the confirmation to start the music. Keith waited for the familiar upbeat and strong bass to blast through the speakers.

  
Instead, a soft guitar and piano echoed through the stage.

  
Keith was taken back as to what he was listening to. He was used to Lance’s electro, pop and rock music. The strong beats and loud tunes. But none of it came. Instead, the soft sounds of the acoustic guitar filled his ear.

  
Then, Lance started singing.

  
His melodic voice rang through the speakers of his desktop as he sang the first verse.

  
_“Thought I’d end up with Sean… but he wasn’t a match.”_

  
Lance took in a shaky breath before continuing.

  
_“Wrote some songs about Ricky. Now I listen and laugh.”_ _  
_

  
His body swayed slightly as he sang to the beat. Keith couldn’t take his eyes off him. For some reason, the sudden change in the style music fit him so well. While his usual songs made his voice sound happy, loud and makes you want to dance, the strums of the guitar and light drumming puts an emphasis on how soft and emotional his voice can be. It was touching, almost like it was tugging on the heartstrings of everyone who has ears.

  
_“One taught me love… One taught me patience… One taught me pain… now I’m so amazing.”_ _  
_

  
The background dancers joined in, doing small movements in the back with their arms to  symbolize some of the lyrics. The purple lights grew brighter until the the entire back was completely in sight.

  
Lance’s voice slowly gets louder as he progresses to the chorus.

  
_“Look what you’ve taught me, and for that I say… thank you, next… thank you, next… thank you, next… thank you, next. I’m so fucking grateful for my ex…”_

  
The background dancers echo him as they repeated the chorus.

  
_“thank you, next (next)”_ _  
_

  
As Lance finished the last line of the chorus, the dancers still. The lights dimmed again, putting the spotlight on the cuban once more. His voice also dropped back to the soft and quiet tone from the beginning.

  
_“Spend more time with my friends… I ain’t worried bout nothin’... plus I met someone else...we havin’ better discussions…”_ _  
_

  
Lance tried to pull the mic off the stand with his shaky hands. As it comes off, he nearly drops it as he surged forward to catch it before continuing with the song, trying to play it off. Keith frowned. It was unlike him to make a mistake live. From the behind the scenes footage, he knows that Lance always goes out of his way to make sure that his performance was perfect. No little errors or mistakes were ever made during his shows. He walks along the front of the stage. Keith could see the displeasure in his face as he sang.

  
_“I know they say I move on too fast...but this one gon’ last… cause his name is Lance~... and I’m so good with that”_ _  
_

  
The lights came back on the the dancers began to move again, repeating the last sentence of the lyric. Lance walked back with the dancers and followed their footsteps, doing the dance in minimalist movement.

  
_“He taught me love… he taught me patience… how he handles pain… now that shit’s amazing”_ _  
_

  
He does a little spin on the spot as they bridge into the chorus again.

  
_“Thank you, next (next)... thank you, next (next)... thank you, next (next)... I’m so fucking grateful for my ex.”_ _  
_

  
He repeated this as the dancers move into a more complex dance. Lance stepped forward to move out the way as he continued to sing. As he finished up the chorus, the dancers slow down, their movements now mimicking slow motion.

  
_“One day I’ll walk down that aisle… holding hand with my mamma...I’ll be thankin’ my dad… ‘cause she grew from the drama”_ _  
_

  
Lance chokes up and Keith could see the tears forming up in his eyes. Nonetheless, he continued to sing, his voice wavering as he tries to hold back the tears.

  
_“Only wanna do it once, real bad... Gon’ make that shit last… god forbid something happens… Least this song is a smash.”_

He puts the mic back onto the stand as he carries into the pre-chorus once again.

  
_“I've got so much love... Got so much patience… I've learned from the pain… I turned out amazing...”_ _  
_

  
Lance brought a hand up to wipe his eyes as his voice gradually gets louder. The dancers began to pick up theirs pace. Right before the chorus, the music stops, and Lance goes off into a rather impressive run, hitting all the high notes with force and accuracy.

  
A pause.

  
The music starts up again.

“ _thank you, next… thank you, next… thank you, next… I’m so fucking grateful for my ex.”_ _  
_

  
Lance pitches higher, running off with the notes as the background dancers sing the chorus. He carries out the last few lines of the song as the music slows down and so do the dancers. Lance’s voice softens as he sung the last few lines, tears now coming down his cheeks.

  
_“thank you, next…”_ _  
_

  
The last note rang through the stage. The audience is silent, currently processing everything that had happened. Then, they erupted into a standing ovation. Lance gives a weak smile and wiped his tears away. He took a bow before turning away. Two of the background dancers ran up to him, each standing by his side as they walked him off.

  
The video ends, leaving Keith sitting on his chair in shock. He doesn’t know how long he’s sat there, but it must have been forever as the sky outside had turned dark. He processed everything from the video. The performance was a mess, no doubt about it. Yet, it was moving, and emotional. Human. Keith proceeded to hop onto his music player and download the song.

  
He plays the song again.

  
(Keith puts it on repeat and plays it for hours until Shiro comes storming in to force him to get some sleep)

* * *

 

Lance breathed heavily.

 

His heart was pounding in his chest as the tears threatened to spill. He quickly bowed in front of the audience as they stood up and clapped before running off to the wings. Lance could feel the eyes watching him, the cameras recording his every movement as he exits the stage. The dancers around ushered around him, trying to get everything cleared for the next performance. They stopped and stared at him every once in a while, whispering things to each other as they continued to move. Lance rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe the tears before they had a chance to spill.

 

Two familiar voices boomed. “Lance! What happened out there?” Nyma ran up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She was slightly out of breath from the performance as she stopped to breathe. Rolo came up behind and stood on the other side. “You good buddy? You look like you were choked up out there…” He says, brows  furrowed in concern.

 

Lance took a deep breath and straightened. “I...I’m fine.” He says and pushes the hands off him. He gave a forced smile, attempting to convince his friends. The two dancers spared Lance a look of concern before attending to their own business. He pushes past people, not bothering to respond to the ‘Good job out there’ or the ‘You did well!’ cause god knows he did awful. He passed by the prep room where Hunk had been waiting. The large male seemed to have who noticed his distress and tried to stop him. “Lance! What’s wrong buddy? Talk to me?”

 

Lance paid no attention as he shook his head and sped up. He broke into a run, dashing past the crew workers all the way to his change room. As he reached his destination, he quickly threw the door opens and slammed it behind him, locking it.

 

He could feel the tears forming again as he slid down onto the floor. His breathing became irregular as he tried to take in large gulps of air to calm down.

 

Lance ducked his head into his lap, attempting to ignore the world and his mistakes for just a moment. He could feel the chills running down his spine as his thoughts began to plague his mind.

 

‘ _you fucked up and you know it’_ Voices whisper in his ear, taunting him. He covered them, hoping to block out the noises but it was no use. ‘ _why do you even try? you know you can’t push me away…’_ Of course, he knew that it wouldn’t have done anything… but he tried anyone. Lance grit his teeth. Everything was just _too much. Too much_ to handle.

 

‘ _Yeah. It’s too much for you, just like how you’re too much for everyone else huh, l o v e r b o y?’_ It was almost as if they were mocking him, teasing him and reminding him of everything he had ever done wrong. His thoughts only grew louder and louder as they consumed his mind.

 

“I know I fucked everything up… I know…” he whispers to the voices. Lance could almost hear them sneer. ‘ _that’s right. maybe that’s why everyone you’ve ever loved left you to rot.’_  

 

Like a punch to the gut, the realization hits him and the tears come streaming down uncontrollably. He chokes back a sob and brought a hand up to his mouth, muffling his cries.

 

He sat there, his eyes screwed shut, not wanting to see the world anymore. He curled up into a ball, making himself as small as possible, as if he was trying to hide. The whispers of his mind became overwhelming as they clouded his thoughts. It grew darker, and darker as he let them take away more and more. He was so close to giving in… _giving in like always._

 

Suddenly, the sound of knocking filled his ears as he jumped from the sound. He bit his lip to keep himself from making a sound as he tried to hold back the sobs. “Lance! Are you alright? What happened out there?” A small voice called out. It was familiar, but he couldn’t put a face on it. His brain wasn’t responding.

 

“Come on buddy, talk to us!” Another person shouted through the door. Then another… and another… until they all just became white noise in the background. Lance tried to focus on them. They were all so familiar... yet unfamiliar. The knocking grew louder and louder, to the point where they were literally pounding on the door. It was getting too much… _too much…_ He couldn’t take it anymore.

 

“Lance! Come out of there right now!”

 

Lance shook his head as he screamed. “Go away and leave me alone!”

 

Silence.

 

His eyes widened in shock as he realized what he had done. He snapped… ‘ _now you’ve done it.’_  There was shuffling and whispers. Then, there were footsteps stomping away. They were walking away, like they giving up on him…

 

Everything was quiet once more as Lance tried to comprehend what had happened. His friends had just given up on him… and he pushed them all away. They left him alone…

 

‘ _just like everyone else’_

 

“Just like everyone else…” He hiccuped.

 

* * *

 

The next day at the studio was almost bearable. Keith spent most of the day with Shiro and Allura. The three sat down and brainstormed ideas for his new album, yet with every suggestion they came with, Keith would decline, responding with a “It doesn’t seem right.”  
  
Eventually, they got fed up and took a break. He remained at the table,  staring at the crumpled pieces of paper scattered everywhere. He sighed in frustration. “God damn it brain! Just think of something already!” he shouts angrily to himself. Keith growls in frustration and grabs his plastic water bottle. He chucks it to the wall with as much force as possible. The bottle smacks the wall and crumpled to the floor.

 

Keith bent down to pick up the bottle.

 

Suddenly, Allura’s head pops through the door. “Hey Keith,” she starts. Keith jumps up. “Jesus Allura! Give a guy a warning or something!” He stuttered out and clutched his chest. He glared at Allura as she rolls her eyes.

 

“Right, as I was saying, have you listened to the new song Lance released like two days ago?”

 

Keith stood up straight. “Yeah I have. It’s… unusual of him to sing something so emotional…”

 

Allura nodded and crossed her arms. “That’s what I thought. It doesn’t seem like him. Personally, I’m worried about him. I wonder what exactly happened in his last relationship that caused him to write something like this…” She furrows her brows.

 

Keith shrugs. “Well, I wouldn’t know. Maybe he just didn’t have feelings for him anymore? Anyway, have you thought of ideas?”

 

Allura glared at Keith. “Don’t try to change the subject.”

 

Keith groaned. “If you wanted to talk about it, why didn’t you just go to Shiro? I’m sure he’d listen to you. You know me.” He tries to reason with her. Allura wasn’t having any of it.

 

“Keith, don’t even try to fight me. I know you listen to Lance’s music almost religiously and keep up with every single detail that gets posted about him.” Keith blushes. “I-I do not listen to his music religiously!”

 

“Oh come on Keith. What about your fan page on twitter and tumbler? The one where you claimed yourself as ‘His number 1 fan’?”

 

Keith’s face flushed even more, his cheeks rivaling the red of a tomato. “S-Shut up! Ok fine, you win.” He crossed his arms over his chest, growling with displeasure as he cleared his throat. He tried to calm down, ashis cheeks returned to their normal shade, still tinted with a bit of pink.

 

“I can tell you that I don’t know exactly what happened with his ex, but I can say that all of them, and I mean, all of his past relationships have a say in this. Also, the performance he did for the premiere was a fucking mess. He almost dropped the mic. He started crying! Crying Allura! He never cries on stage!” Keith exclaims, throwing his arms into the air.

 

Allura sighs.

 

“I knew something happened. Did he say anything else?”

 

Keith shook his head. “No…  he didn’t say why exactly he wrote it. But he was definitely off during the interview… He didn’t even try to flirt with anyone!”

 

Allura brings a hand to her face, muttering something inaudible under her breath.

 

“Well… I guess that says something about him…” she spoke up and let out an exasperated sigh.

 

“Thanks Keith. Now about your album…”

 

A devilish smirk spread across her face. Keith groaned. _Oh no…_

 

Allura yanked out her phone and began scrolling down something. She had a shit eating grin plastered on and Keith prepared himself for the shit that was coming his way. He hesitantly peeked over her shoulder to see what exactly she was looking at.

 

His heart dropped at the familiar blues and whites.

 

“Nooo! Allura get off of that right now!”

 

She cackled, opening up an image and reading the description. “Look at our beautiful sharpshooter… Isn’t he charming?”

 

Keith flushed as he reached over, trying to take the phone away from her. “Stoooopp.” He whines as she scrolled down further. Allura opened up another picture of Lance. “Is it even possible to look that hot?” She says in a dreamy voice, pretending like she was dramatically fainting.

 

Keith took this opportunity to swipe her phone away and place it on top of shelf where she couldn’t reach it. Allura instantly snapped back up and began whining as Keith walked back to the table. His face was completely red, as if he was trying to rival the colours of a tomato.

 

 _Never again…_ Never again is Keith going to willingly let himself talk about Lance in front of Allura again. Never.  

 

After about an hour spent in the room with Allura, they had been making some good progress until Keith decided to turn on the some music. The first mistake, and probably the most punishing one. Unexpectedly, Lance’s song just so happened been playing on the speaker that his phone was connected to.

 

As if a switch went off in Allura, she instantly jumped into action, constantly teasing Keith and his mini (major) crush on Lance. He quickly turned off his phone, attempting to pretend like nothing happened but god knows it doesn’t work. Keith spent the next 10 minutes, trying not to blush like a tomato until Shiro finally stepped into the room with a tray of food.

 

“God Shiro save me from this monstrosity!” Keith whines and dramatically leans back into his chair, bringing his hand up to his face like a diva. Shiro laughed and set down the trays. “What did Allura do this time?”

 

“Ask her yourself!”

 

Shiro turned to Allura with a knowing look. She smirked and grabbed Keith’s phone. Keith jumped out of his seat to try and snatch it out of her grasp, but it was too late. She cackled as she pressed play once more. The sound of Lance’s soft voice boomed through the speakers as Allura spoke in a teasing voice. “I was just helping poor little Keith here think about themes for his new song! After all, I think one about his crush Lance would be wonderful.”

 

Shiro shakes his head. “Are you two ever gonna grow up or what?”

 

Keith scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Says you. You’re like what, literally 6?” Allura hums in agreement.

 

Shiro pouts. “It’s not my fault I was born on a leap year.” He then takes a moment to listen to the song playing in the background. “This is Lance?” He asks, raising an eyebrow. Keith nods. “Yeah… it’s different than his usual songs.”

 

Shiro frowns as a look of concern flashes across his face. “Huh… that’s weird.”

 

“It is weird. Which was why Keith wanted to talk about him. Isn’t that right Keith?” Allura says in a teasing tone.

 

Keith glares at Allura before reaching for his phone and a pretzel on the tray. He bites his snack and mutters a ‘fuck you’. Suddenly, Allura’s phone rings. Allura snaps her head towards Keith. He shrugs and walks over to the shelf where her phone laid. As he took it off the shelf, Allura quickly snatched the phone from his hand. Before Keith could take a look at who the caller was, she picks it up and brings it to her ear.

 

“Hello? Allura speaking.”

 

A muffled voice could be heard on the other side, but no words could be made out from where Keith sat. Her face then drops into a look of worry. “Oh! How are you? I heard about it…” she covers the bottom of her phone and excused herself. She walked to the corner of the room where it was harder for Keith to hear.

 

He turns to Shiro with a questioning look. He just shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I know just about as much as you do.” He responds with a shrug. Keith tossed the rest of his pretzel into his mouth before standing up and making his way to the door. “You know what, I think I’m done for today. See you tomorrow.” he says hastily, wanting nothing more than to sleep at the moment. Allura just finished her phone call as she makes her way back to the table and picks up a cracker from the tray.

 

Just as he steps through the door, he heard Allura’s voice call out. “By the way! Tomorrow, make sure you get here a little earlier than usual! I’ve got a surprise for you.”

 

Keith groans and flips her off.

 

* * *

 

Although he doesn’t trust Allura one bit, he’s shows up early at the studio tomorrow. He grumbled as he bursts through the door with his cup of black coffee. As he stepped inside, he noticed that it was mostly empty. He growls as he spoke with a loud voice. “Allura you better not be fucking with me or I’ll actually murder you.”

 

Keith glares at Allura, who had just turned the corner. Her eyes landed on Keith as a large smile appeared on her face. “Oh Keith! You’re actually here early!” Keith grumbled and sipped his coffee.

 

“I swear to god Allura, if this is a joke I’m going home and never talking to you again…”

 

Allura surged forward and grabbed Keith’s other hand, dragging him along. “Come on Keith, I promise you’ll like this.” She says, practically radiating excitement. She then broke into a run and Keith yelped as he tried not to fall. As they make their way down the halls of the studio with Keith constantly screaming, they end up in front of the doors to the lounge.

 

They suddenly stop in front of the door. Allura smirks and winks at Keith, who was disheveled. His hair was messy and there was a bit of coffee staining his sweater. He gives Allura a menacing look, who only rolled her eyes.

 

“You’ll thank me for this later.”

 

Before Keith had a moment to retort, the doors swung open and Allura dragged him inside.

 

“Our little grumpy kitten has arrived!”

 

Shiro’s head popped up from behind the couch and he gave Keith a big smile. “Hey kitten!” Adam peeked out from behind Shiro and giggled.

 

“For the last time, I’m not a kitten!” He brought a hand to his and groaned. “Why am I even here…” he mumbles under his breath. He finished the rest of his coffee and slams his cup onto a nearby table. He sinks into the couch and leans his head back.

 

“So, Allura. You’re gonna explain to me why I’m here so early. You have ten minutes before I go on a rampage.”  Keith mutters out and sent a death glare. Allura scoffed. “Right, like I said before, you’ll thank me for this.” She then leaves the room with a quick, “I’ll be right back!”

 

Keith turned to Shiro, who sat on the couch with his arm around Adam. “What’s going on Shiro?”

 

Shiro playfully shrugged and looked away, his face clearly hiding something. Adam quipped up in a joyous tone. “Takashi, stop teasing him.” He scolded lightly. Keith opened his mouth to say something, but got cut off by the door opening once more.

 

Allura walks in, dragging someone else in along with her. Keith felt his heart stop as his eyes landed on a very familiar cuban. He could hear Allura say something, but it was muffled and unclear.

 

“Everyone! Meet the infamous Lance Mcclain!” She says. Truth to her word, a very familiar cuban steps into the room.

 

_Holy shit… Lance is really here…_

 

Lance’s sharp blue eyes scanned the room as a wide smile graced his lips. “Hey guys.” His voice was melodic, like everything he said was a song meant to serenade everyone he spoke with. Keith could feel the heat rising up to his cheeks as their eye met. Lance gave a little wave. Shiro gets up and threw an arm over the cubans shoulders. “Hey there sharpshooter. How have you been holding up recently?” He says and ruffles the others hair.

 

Keith could hear Allura approaching him. “Told ya you’d like my surprise.” The smirk was almost clear in her voice. Keith sat there, completely in shock while progressing everything that’s currently happening. His mind was running at a million miles a minute. He then turned to Allura and whispers. “How the fuck did you manage to pull him here?”

 

Allura only shrugs, but it was clear that she definitely had some sort of excuse. “Well I mean, being his childhood friend has perks.” Keith was flabbergasted. “Childhood friend?! What the fuck Allura? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He stuttered. Before he could make a comment, a loud laugh comes from Shiro. Keith’s head whipped over to the sound. Shiro was bent over, laughing his fucking ass off while Lance stood there with a rather proud look on his face as if to say ‘ _yeah. I just did that’_

 

Keith sat there confused by their interaction. From what he knew, Shiro only knows of Lance through him. _So how…?_ Keith falls back onto the couch and pulls Allura with him. “What’s with Shiro? They’re acting like they’ve known each other for years… not for like a few minutes.” Keith was genuinely confused. Shiro had never really mentioned Lance much, other than when Keith had brought him up in one of his fangirling phase.

 

“What do you mean? Shiro’s known Lance for years. They’ve done songs together and chat regularly.”

 

“What?!” He screamed.

 

Keith’s eyes widen when he realized how loud he had been. Everyone stopped to stare at him, their faces contorted into confusion. Keith didn’t care. He stomped up to Shiro and jabbed a finger to his chest. “You knew Lance personally and you didn’t tell me?” He says accusingly.

 

“Uhh Yeah. Met him back when he first started his music career. He was such a small little bean.” Shiro cooed. Lance pouted and crossed his arms. “I was not a bean, thank you very much.”

 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “Sure. Well while he’s here” He pulls Keith into a side hug as Keith faced Lance head on. “I might as well introduce you to Keith, my younger brother.”

 

Suddenly, all the feelings of anger washed away as their eyes met. Keith could get lost in those eyes. The ocean blue. They were entrancing, almost pulling you closer, lulling you into a sense of security and warmth. But behind those eyes hid something far more than just a Loverboy persona…

 

“-eith? Keith? You there buddy?”

 

Keith snapped out of his thoughts, suddenly aware of their situation. He jumped back, now standing a couple feet from Lance as he stuttered. “I’m fine!”

 

He takes a moment to calm down, to process and accept everything.

 

“So… what are you doing here? Don’t you have like, tours and performances to do? Afterall, you just released a new single and literally everyone on the internet is going insane.” _including Keith_.

 

Lance sighed.

 

“I was suppose to be going on another interview for some late night host show again, but this guy-” He pointed towards Shiro, who proudly smirked back. “-forced me to decline. He also won’t let me do anything other than rest even though I’ve told him time and time again that _I’m fine._ ”

 

“Uh huh, and I’m like, 4.” Shiro retorted.

 

Keith snorts. “Shiro you are literally 4. You were born on a leap year.”

 

Shiro froze, the realization finally hitting him as he tried to recover. “W-well… you get my point!” Lance giggled. “Yeah yeah, I get it.”

 

Allura popped up out of nowhere, a smug grin on her face and her phone in the other hand. “So Lance! Now that you’ve met Keith, I’ve gotta show you something!” Keith’s mind went haywire as he realized what she was going to do.

 

“Allura don’t you dare… Don’t you fuckin-”

 

Lance peeked over to the screen and Keith sprung into action. He leaped on top of Allura, efficiently pinning her down as she cackled. “Lance! Catch!”

 

Suddenly the phone was out of her hand. She threw it up into the air, and before Keith had time to react, it was in Lance’s hands. Keith sat there, pinning Allura in shock as he watched Lance scroll down. The boy’s eyebrows quirk up in confusion.

 

“Am I looking… at a fanpage for me?”

 

“Nope!” “Yep!” Both Allura and Keith shouted at the same time. Lance took a moment to scroll through. Keith sat there on top of Allura, pinning her to the ground.

 

“Oh wow these are some nice pictures of me! I wonder how they got them…” Lance continued to scroll, his eyes shining in amusement and curiosity. “Aww they think I’m cute. That’s so sweet.” He cooed. Keith could feel his cheeks redden as he continued to make comments on the posts.

 

“Wait… Is that a limited picture of me they took for BOM? You know, the one with me topless?”

 

Keith squeaked and loosened his grip. Allura took this opportunity to push Keith off. He yelped as he fell over, his back hitting the ground. Allura got up and patted her clothes before leaning on Lance’s shoulder.

 

“You know, I actually know the owner of this account.” she says in a sly tone, sneaking glances at Keith.

 

“Really? You’ve got to introduce me one day. I love meeting my fans!” Lance says as he handed her phone back. Her smirk grew bigger as Keith sent her a death glare.

 

“Allura don’t you dare…” He growls under his breath. Allura paid no attention.

 

“You know what Lance, I can introduce you to him right now!” She grabbed Keith by his collar and hoisted him up. He shook his head and clawed at Allura’s hand.

 

“Allura don’t you fucking dare-”

 

“Lance, meet Keith. The owner of the ‘#1 Lance-stan’ fanpage.” She exclaimed, pushing Keith forward. Keith groaned in embarrassment and brought a hand to cover his face. He couldn’t bother to look at Lance’s reaction, knowing it was probably know of disgust. Instead of insults coming his way on how strange it was, he heard giggles.

 

Keith peeked through his fingers, catching a glimpse of Lance. He was stifling his laughter behind his hand with an endearing look on his face. “Aww, that’s so sweet. Well Mr. #1 Lance stan, it’s nice to meet you.” He teased and winked.

 

Keith groaned and removed his hand from his face. “Yeah yeah…” he mumbled, trying his best not to make the situation worse.

 

“Try not to boost his ego too much!” He heard Allura mumble into his ear before she walked off, leaving the two alone.

 

They stood in awkward silence, both not knowing what to say. Keith fidgitted in his spot, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

 

_C’mon Keith… say something. Ask him about his album or something._

 

“So how was your day today?”

 

“My day? Well… it’s only like 8 am in the morning right now so uh…”

 

_Shit… Good job Keith. He totally thinks you’re an idiot now._

 

Keith’s mouth snapped shut as he laughed nervously. Lance was no different. He looked like he had a lingering questions for Keith, yet no words were exchanged between the two. Luckily, Shiro came in, breaking their silence.

 

“Well Lance, since you’re in town for a while, why don’t we use this time to get to know each other better and to catch up?” He spoke in a soft voice. Keith could hear something hiding behind the kind tone though, almost as if it was something personal.

 

Keith opened his mouth to make a comment. Just as he was about to say something, Allura cuts him off.

 

“Alright! How about this? Since Lance is staying here for a while, we all have time to catch up, hang out and have a good time. Tomorrow, we all take a break and head out to have some fun yeah?” She was glaring at the two men, almost as if she were to force them into accepting her arrangement.

 

Shiro and Lance coward under Allura’s glare. Keith stifle his laughter. Never in his life would he have thought that someone as big as Shiro would be freezing up and cowering over someone like Allura. Suddenly, said woman then brought her gaze over to Keith and he instantly froze.

 

The deathly look in her eyes pinning him in place, almost like an unspoken battle hiding behind those cerulean blue eyes.  

 

All the blood in Keith’s body ran cold.

 

“Do you agree with my plan, Keith?” She spoke sweetly, yet menacing.

 

Keith spared a glance over where Lance stood. The boy was shaking his head, mouthing the words ‘Just say yes!’ to him. Keith opened his mouth to respond but no sound came out. “Well?” Allura pressed, the glare intensifying.

 

Keith nodded his head, deciding his voice was no use in this situation.

 

Allura’s menacing glare softened and a grin made its way onto her face. “Great! I’ll send you all details later!” She skipped away, as if she hadn’t been sending death threats.

 

Keith released a breath he didn’t even know he was holding in. His shoulders slumped forward as he tried to recover from his near death experience.

 

“Man… She’s just as terrifying as I remember.” Lance spoke beside him, equally shook.

 

They both took a moment to themselves before Lance spoke up again.

 

“Since I’m stuck here with you guys for a while, why don’t we exchange numbers? You know, to keep in touch.”

 

Keith felt his cheeks tint pink as he reached for his phone. “...sure.” Lance took the device and handed his own to him. They both started clicking on the keys. Lance grinned, then handed the phone back to Keith. Keith raised an eyebrow as he handed Lance’s phone back.

 

Then he saw the contact name.

 

_Your Favourite Sharpshooter Loverboy Lance <3 _

 

“H-How did you even manage to fit everything in here?!” He exclaimed. “Oh hush, I find a way for everything.” Lance replied smuggly. He then looked back at his own phone. “Aww Keith you’re so boring. You didn’t bother to nickname yourself anything! We gotta change that!”

 

“Wait what are you doing?”

 

Lance giggled and turned his phone around, the screen now in front of Keith’s face.

 

_My #1 Fan <333 _

 

“Fuck off Lance!”

 

“Aww you love me anyway~”

 

Keith grumbled as he denied profusely. Lance just cackled. “Right. Sure.” Adam then comes up to Lance and dragged him by the wrist. “Sorry Keith! I’m borrowing Lance for a bit!”

 

Before Keith could respond, they were off.

 

Suddenly, Shiro came up and slumped his arm over him. “Keeiittthh… if I die, tell Adam I love him!” He cried dramatically. Keith sighed.

 

“What did you do this time?”

 

“I joked about Allura getting fat…”

 

“Wow… Good luck my brother. I’ll see you in hell.”

 

“You’re not helping!”

 

* * *

 

Honestly… Keith doesn’t know what he did to deserve this.

 

At some point during their meet up at a local diner, they decided it was a good idea ditch the place and go to the karaoke bar next door. Now, he’s sitting on a couch surrounded with middle-aged people drunk off their ass and belting the lyrics to “Take on Me” while simultaneously being horrendously off-key.

 

Allura was giggling maniacally as she swung the bottle of god knows what around. She stood on top of a table, wobbling a bit as Coran instantly came over to support her. “Wh-Who’s up for more drinks?!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, swinging the bottle of whiskey around before proceeding to chug what was remaining.

 

Shiro was in a similar state. Only, less giggling, and more shouting. Normally when you meet Shiro, you’d think he’s calm, collected, and well-mannered. He might seem pretty intimidating at first with his large body and prosthetic arm, but after a couple minutes, it’s pretty clear that he wouldn’t dare hurt a fly.

 

Now Shiro while drunk is a whole different story.

 

Drunk Shiro™ loved to pick fights, actively using his large body and muscles to his advantage to knock out the first person he sees. Apparently, Drunk Shiro™ loved to swear. His mouth was so filthy, it would make sailors blush in comparison. He was shameless.  

 

Keith flinched as the sound of glass shattering.

 

“Aw honestly fuck you Allura! Share the Whiskey! You’re tealing the god damn drinks all the fucking time!” ” Shiro cussed as he raised both his middle fingers at Allura. She turned around as stuck her tongue out.“Not my fault you’re too slow!” She taunts and flipped him back. She then popped the bottle open and began to chug. Shiro yelped and jumped from his spot. He stumbled a bit from standing too fast before wobbling his way to Allura.

 

“Get over here you fucking bitch ass cunt!”

 

“Shiro! Language!” Adam scolded, throwing his arms around the other man, hoping to pin him down as he struggled to catch Allura. The dazed look in Shiro’s eyes screamed ‘murder’ as he glared at Allura. After a couple minutes of struggling, Shiro gave up and slumped over, lying on the floor in defeat.

 

“Ugh, you’re lucky I love you so much Adam otherwise I would have beat your ass.”

 

“Sure Takashi. Say that to my ass.”

 

“Maybe I will.” Shiro pulled Adam closer until Adam was straddling his lap. “T-Takashi there are people here right now!”

 

Keith groaned. “Yeah Shiro. There are people here.”

 

Adam sighed and placed a kiss to the corner of Shiro’s lips before getting off. “Not now honey. We’ll continue this later. Until then, behave yourself for me ok?” He said sweetly, adding a little wink at the end. Keith rolled his eyes as Shiro instantly calmed down. Adam made his way over to where Keith was sitting and plopped down.

 

“Really Adam? Was that necessary?”

 

Adam hummed as a smug look appeared on his face.

 

“No. But like-”

 

“I don’t wanna hear it…” Keith interrupted. Adam bursted into laughter. “Oh Keith. Trust me, you’ll get it when you have someone.” They sat there in silence for a moment, taking some time to just relax.

 

As if a switch had been flicked, everyone began to wear themselves out.

 

Coran was passed out by the edge of the couch.

 

Allura was lying dead on the ground, her bottle of whiskey loosely in her grips.

 

Shiro had resorted to sitting on the floor, cross-legged a couple feet from Adam. Both Keith and Adam took a sigh of relief as things finally began to ease up.

 

His mind then shifts over to someone else. “Wait… Where’s Lanc-”

 

Someone throws an arm around his neck.

 

“Keiiittthhh~” A sultry voice called on his left side. The smell of alcohol filled his nose as Keith slowly turned his head to the sound. Suddenly, they began to climb into his lap as arms and legs wrapped around his body. Keith’s ears turned pink as he realized who it was.

 

There he was, Lance Mcclain, shit-faced to the extreme, clinging onto Keith like a koala.

 

“Lance… What the fuck are you doing?” He struggled to get out as Lance hugged him tighter. “Mmm I’m bored! Allura keeps taking all the drinks and Shiro’s no fun!” he whined and pointed to where Shiro sat, crossed legged and eyeing Adam.

 

Keith shifted around in his seat as Lance leaned forward and snuggled in the crook of Keith neck, the scent of his cologne was now present. He tried his best to keep his cool, but with this hot ass cuban sitting in his lap, arms and legs all over him, it was kinda hard.

 

Keith turned his head over to Adam. “Adam! Help me!” He whisper-shouted. Adam only chuckled. “Nah dude. Seems like you’ve got it under control.”

 

“Under control my ass! Help me!”

 

“He likes you! Why don’t you take him to your place yeah? I think he’ll like that better than the shitty hotel that he’s temporarily booked in.”

 

“Adam don’t do this to me.” Keith begged. God knows what Keith would do while Lance was at his house! He’d probably embarrass again and mess everything up!

 

“Am I having a sleepover at Kooths?” Lance slurred, raising his head slightly. “Wait, Kooth?” Adam shut him up and spoke softly to Lance.

 

“Yes Lance. You’re having a sleepover tonight at Keith’s.”

 

Lance’s eyes lit up like a christmas tree. “Yay! I’m sleeping over at Kooths! I like Kooth!”

 

“Wait Adam I didn’t agree to this!”

 

Adam gave Keith a look. “Come on Keith, please? Just this one. He’s taken a liking into you, and we all know you have an extra bed for when Shiro visits.”

 

“Yeah but-”

 

“No buts. Just do this one favour for me please?” Adam was now giving his puppy eyes, mouth coming down into a pout. Keith gave in.

 

“Fine… but you owe me 3 days of free coffee.”

 

Adam smiled. “Deal.”

 

They began packing up, picking up the empty bottles littered on the floor. Adam took a moment to fetch a waitress and pay the bill while Keith watched over the rest. Once they paid, they were out the door.

 

Keith left the bar with Lance on his back after he helped Adam carry Shiro, Allura and Coran into his car.

 

He jostled Lance awake as they approached his motorbike parked on the side. Lance let’s out a whine in displeasure.

 

“Come on Lance, you’ve gotta work with me here.”

 

“Noo! I don’t wannaaa!” He groaned and slumped over Keith’s shoulder.

 

“Lance please we gotta get back to my place. Don’t you want your sleepover?”

 

Keith spoke in a soft voice, the way a mother would speak to a child. Honestly, he felt ridiculous babying a fully grown man in his arms but what more can he do? He pleaded, begging Lance to work with him as he tried to get the cuban to sit on the back of his bike.

 

“Mmm… If I work with Kooth, does that mean I can sleepover?” Lance questioned, quirking his head to the side as his body swayed.

 

“Yes. That means you can have a sleepover. Only if you work with me.”

 

Lance hummed to himself, bringing a finger to his lips and thought for a moment.

 

Then, he smiled.

 

“Okay!” He giggled. Keith sighed in relief and quickly swung his leg over the bike. He revved the engines and turned his headlights on. Arms slithered around his waist and clutched on tight. Lance pressed his face into Keith’s back, snuggling against his hair. “You’re warm.” He sighed.

 

The tips of Keith’s ears turned pink as he sped off.

 

_Dear god… Send me help._

  


 

 

“Lance! Please! We’re almost there. Don’t do this to me now.”

 

“Noo! I’m tired Kooth! Let me sleeep!” Lance cried as they entered through the doors of the lobby. Keith was quick to hush him. The person working behind the counter peeked over the marble surface to investigate the noise.

 

“Oh! Keith! What were you doing out so late? It’s almost like, 3 am!”

 

“Just a group gathering Acxa. Don’t worry about it-”

 

“Oh… My god. Is that Lance fucking Mcclain in your arms??” She screamed and ran around to meet them. Keith facepalmed. It was way too late to deal with this.

 

“Yes and he’s currently shitfaced. If you want his autograph, wait till tomorrow morning.”

 

Instead of pulling out a pen and paper, she yanked out her phone and snapped a picture. She then smirked at Keith. “Oh trust me, working in a building with celebrities living here, I’m over autographs and fangirling. I’m doing you a favour Keith!” She winked as Keith raised and eyebrow.

 

“What?”

 

“You think I don’t know about your obsession with Lance? I live like, a floor below you and I can hear his music blasting through the walls. You’re like, the biggest fanboy I know.”

 

Keith flipped her off. “Fuck off Acxa. Not the time now.”

 

She flipped her hair and walked back to the counter. “Oh hush. Now go get him like, a shower and a bed. He looks like he needs it.” Keith grumbled as he slowly made his way to the elevator.

 

As the doors opened with a ‘ding’, he heard her shout: “Don’t forget to use protection!” Keith repressed a retort as he stepped into the elevator. He glared at Acxa for as long as he could while she smiled back with an innocent look on her face.

 

She gave a little flick of the hand and the doors shut.

 

 

 

They were back in Keith’s apartment now. Keith rested Lance’s body against the wall as he reached up and flicked the lightswitch on. Instantly, his apartment lit up. He took off his shoes by the door and threw his jacket onto the couch in his living room.

 

Glancing back at the resting cuban by his door, he huffed. He picked the boy up again and brought him to his room before throwing him onto the bed. ( ~~wink wink~~ ) Lance groaned in displeasure as his face scrunched up. “Lotor?” He mumbled, his eyes cracked open.

 

Keith froze in his tracks. _Who the fuck was Lotor?_  He stood there, by the bed as Lance began to look around in confusion. “Is… That you Lotor?” The brunette questioned again. Keith struggled to find his voice.

 

“No… This isn’t Lotor. It’s Keith.” He spoke hesitantly,

 

“Keith? Where am I?”

 

“You’re in my apartment. Adam told me to take you in for the night.”

 

“Oh…”

 

Lance stopped talking. For a moment, Keith thought he had fallen asleep. Then he noticed that Lance was shaking as a feared look crossed his face. He began apologizing profusely, his head was hung low. Keith frowned as a concerned look flashed across his face. “Lance? Are you ok?” He reached a hand forward to push his hair out of his face.

 

Lance flinched as Keith’s hand came in contact with his forehead. He began to panic, his eyes shut tight and his body tensed, almost like he was expecting Keith to hit him. Keith instantly drew his hand back when Lance started whimpering.

 

“Please… Don’t-Don’t hurt me…” He cried, the tears welling up in his eyes. Suddenly, Keith was filled with confusion and rage towards this… strange Lotor guy. Whoever this _Lotor_ guy was, deserved to burn in hell. He slowly made his way onto the bed next to Lance and wrapped his arms around the shaking boy.

 

Lance instantly collapsed against Keith. He began to mutter apologies again as Keith hushed him, rocking them back and forth. When Lance seemed to have snapped back into reality, he raised his head. “Keith?” he mumbled before passing out.

 

Keith opened his mouth to say something, but decided to wait till the morning.

 

Slowly, he laid Lance down and got up from the bed. He brought the blankets up to cover his body before making his way to the door. As he left his room, he spared one last glance at the sleeping body before shutting the door.

 

He slumped over onto the couch and lied down.

 

Keith was still confused with what just happened between him and Lance.

 

_Lotor._

  
Who was Lotor? Was he an ex lover of Lance? And if so, what had he done to cause Lance to react like that? If he really was his lover, why hadn’t Keith known? He’d kept up with every relationship Lance has had over the last couple of years and although he’s dated many questionable people, there was one thing for sure.

 

None of them mentioned someone named Lotor.

 

Lance has never talked about or even _mentioned_ someone like him, so maybe he was forced to keep his mouth shut? Clearly he wasn’t a good person if Lance was so scarred as to believe that Keith was going to hurt him. Keith shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

 

He shouldn’t jump to conclusions. For all he knew, Lotor could have just been a friend. Yet… he had an uneasy feeling in his gut.

 

He turned over to his side and rested his head on top of his arms.

 

All this can wait till tomorrow. Right now, he was tired as fuck.

 

His eyes shut as he gave into the soft lulls of sleep.


End file.
